In a first for the fashion industry, British fashion brand Burberry (@burberry) has given their Twitter followers a sneak and very exclusive preview of their 2012 Spring/Summer collection.

Burberry’s first-ever ‘Tweetwalk’ took place yesterday at 4pm, and promised that “SS12 looks will be on Twitter before the runway”. The account then live-tweeted photos of models and celebrities wearing the new Burberry designs backstage at London Fashion Week, giving Burberry’s half a million followers a look at the new range before the audience at the show.

Photographer Mike Kus took control of Burberry’s Instagram account during the preview, which quickly became a global trending topic on Twitter.

“We are thrilled to create the first ever ‘Tweetwalk show’ in partnership with Twitter. Twitter is instantaneous and I love the idea that streaming a show can be in many different forms. This collection is all about the most detailed hand crafted pieces and fabric innovation, creating a beautiful physical experience that is communicated digitally in dynamic and diverse ways and I love balancing those two worlds,” said Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief creative officer.

Burberry is the most popular Twitter account on the FTSE 100, with over half a million followers. Burberry’s Facebook Page has over 8.5 million fans, where the show was also streamed in HD.